The Apprentice
by gotc147
Summary: Samantha Parker, average, church-going girl with a loving family... Until that faithful night... Based on the movie, rated for violence and language.
1. Life is Good

Chapter 1: Life is Good

Look at that, here I am in the Punisher category. A couple notes, firstly this story is based off the New War Zone movie rather than the comics (third time's a charm I guess). I am not familiar with New York City's layout so if I say, for example, something about a church on First and there is no church on First I apologize. Last thing is the first chapter is more of a prologue and despite the main character's gender I am not planning any "intimate" scenes for this story.

And lastly, this is a very anti-religion story; if anybody has a problem with that I do not recommend reading it.

On with it.

* * *

Samantha Parker was the average eighteen year old girl, she had a very healthy and involved relationship with her mother and father, not having many fights with them or her younger brother of sixteen and sister of twelve. The quiet suburbs of New York City were tranquil, at least her neighborhood, kids could go outside and play, even after nightfall and the parents had little to worry about.

They were not wealthy but got by just fine, her father, American Airlines station manager at Kennedy Airport, was a respectable man, he was fair about everything, at least in his personal life, his professional life was always "fine" but he had every right to not enjoy the way his company treated him with the airlines being as cheap as they were, twenty-two years with the company and they hadn't even offered him a company car for his long commute, so the majority of his route in and out of work were on New York City's vast subway system.

Most of the family's local travels took place on the subway, Friday night eat-outs and Sunday morning trips to church were adhered to on a strict schedule using the subway.

Her mother was for the first fifteen years of Samantha's life a stay-at-home mom, and a very good one at that. She always kept her children happy and in turn they caused her little trouble, that's not to say accidents didn't happen from time to time, of course there would be a broken lamp here and there but her mother never punished them for it, simply telling them "accidents happen, the important thing is we don't repeat them".

Her brother was slightly more withdrawn but still a close family member, he spent quite a bit of time in his room playing video games, watching movies, surfing the internet and who knew what else. But he contributed to family moments, often being the life of the party.

Her twelve year old sister was much more like Samantha, trying her hardest to be like her older sister with classic mimicry, it was comical. However unlike Samantha, who had platinum blond hair and green eyes which she got from her mother, her sister had black hair and blue eyes, favoring her father.

Breakfast had been served, a tall stack of pancakes with maple syrup and whipped cream for toppings and bacon and toast on the side. It was a Sunday, a quiet day for the Parker's, breakfast woke everybody up for the trip to church. "Morning honey" Samantha's father said as he walked into the kitchen giving his wife a peck on the cheek. "Morning guys" he said to his three children.

"Morning dad" they all said back. He took a seat at the table followed shortly but their mother, they all took each other's hands and bowed their heads.

"Dear Lord we thank you for blessing us with this food and the life you've given us, we are eternally grateful and pray for more good fortune, amen" Their father said.

"Amen" said the rest of the family.

* * *

Samantha's family took the subway to fifth and thirteenth station to go to their church. Samantha held a high faith in God, believing that he truly did control everything. She didn't believe so much in a "divine plan" but rather that God rewarded the good, and punished the evil. Which is why she believed her family had such a good life, none of them had ever committed a crime, they all worshipped God to the fullest extent and by all accounts should have no problems at the gates to heaven.

That was also why she believed God had sent those terrorists on September eleventh, the bombers in Madrid, the A-bomb on Hiroshima, the Chernobyl catastrophe, caused the Titanic to sink, the flesh-eating viruses that plagued parts of Africa, and all the other terrible afflictions that have claimed lives in the past, in her mind, God was simply punishing those people for their sins.

The Preacher was doing a sermon on Frank Castle, saying that he was sent by the Lord to pass judgment on the criminals who flooded New York City's streets. Samantha's opinion wasn't much different, she believed Frank Castle to be an extension of the Lord himself, an enforcer, the Lord's one-man police force. She admired him as something more than human; she felt he was a literal God send, she didn't know Castle's history.

The Preacher finished his speech, and the people began to file out of the church, the Parker's heading back to fifth and thirteenth station. It was just past noon as they found a bench to sit on to wait for the train. Samantha sat to the far left, closest to the entrance to the station; there were unusually few people at the station on this particular day and time, it being Sunday there usually weren't too many people but more than what there was right now.

Samantha didn't notice the smaller number of people, she was slightly lost in her thoughts about the Preacher's words about Frank Castle, how he was good for doing what he did but bad at the same time, it created a slight conflict inside her mind that she couldn't shake right away.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a dark figure descend the stairs and make a left turn, the figure walked out from behind a billboard and she saw it was a male, a heavily armed male. He looked over at her, making eye contact but no other gestures, he turned left again and walked down the service stairway to the subway tracks and began to sprint down the tunnel.

Samantha's jaw was agape and her eyes wide; as soon as she had made eye contact with him she realized who it was, Frank Castle, the Punisher. She was beyond star struck, she almost felt as if God had just walked by her, and that's when her train arrived.

"Samantha, honey?" Her mother asked, snapping Samantha out of her deep trance.

"Huh? What?" She asked.

Her mother chuckled. "You okay honey? You looked like you just witnessed the second coming of Jesus".

In her mind she did in a sense, but she decided against telling her mother she just saw the Punisher because apparently she missed him along with the rest of the family. "No, I… Ah it's nothing; let's get on before the train pulls away".

The remainder of the day was uneventful, Samantha had calmed herself from her little experience and was now heading to bed, per usual being the last one to do so. She knelt at her bedside and said a short prayer… "Dear Lord, please protect me as I sleep, please also watch over my mother, father, brother and sister, amen".

* * *

"Yo Carl you got that strap?" One man said to one of the other two men in the car.

"Course I got my strap fool, you think I stupid-nuff to come without my nine?" Carl replied. "I's worried 'bout Victor, he the new guy".

"Yo fuck you nigga I got my cannon right here, we almost there Dwayne?"

"We is there nigga, now com'on the Bloods gonna score some paper…"

The three men got out of the car, each of them had a handgun of various makes, each of them equipped with silencers. They put their hoods over their heads and walked up to the Parker's door…

* * *

This chapter is a little shorter than I usually write but it sets the story up. How was it?


	2. Lost

Chapter 2: Lost

Good responses for the first chapter, thanks to all.

* * *

Samantha awoke to a crash down the hallway, and was thrown into a panic by the sound of another crash. She sat up in her bed, frozen stiff from fear as she heard high-pitched, but very quiet pops. "What's the combo you fuck?!" She heard an unfamiliar male voice yell, a few seconds later, another pop.

"Mom? Dad?" Sam heard her sister ask from right on the other side of her door. A pause, then more pops and a thud.

She heard another crash. "Get out!" She heard her brother yell, then more pops and another thud.

"Yo fuck this shit man, I we's in the wrong house" She heard the same voice that demanded a "combo" only seconds earlier say.

"Markus said the safe was built into the wall in the bedroom, tear down the artwork" said a different male voice.

Minutes passed as Sam listened to the intruders tear apart her parents' bedroom. "Yo there ain't no safe" a third male voice said.

"Shit nigga this the wrong house!" The second voice said.

"Fuck it, just get back to the car, we's outta here" The first voice said.

She waited a handful of minutes until she was convinced the strangers were gone, Sam stood up from her bed, she was barefoot and as she walked over to her door she stepped in some kind of liquid. She turned on her light to see it was blood sliding along the hardwood floor. She reluctantly opened the door, as she feared; there was her sister, face down in a human-size puddle of crimson blood, three exit wounds in her upper back.

She looked to the right to the other end of the hall to see her brother in a similar situation; he was face up, leaning slightly against the wall, a sickeningly large blood streak on it accompanied by an ever increasing pool below him.

In a state of shock, she softly walked down the hall towards her brother and parents bedroom. The door was open and she looked inside, her mother and father were on the bed, which was drenched in blood. Her mother was closest to the door and she was lying face up, her face was gone, replaced with bullet holes.

Sam looked around the room, it had been tossed thoroughly, she then walked over to the other side of the bed to see the condition of her final family member, her father. He was oddly clean, no wounds in his body, except on the side of his head. His eyes were open along with his mouth; Samantha put her hand on his chest, and didn't notice his heart was still beating.

"Sammy?" He asked quietly, not looking around. "Sammy is that you?"

She couldn't control her voice, and cracked out "Dad?"

"Sammy… Take care of your… Brother and sister…" He stopped talking and his heart stopped beating.

Sam's entire body was shaking, tears hadn't formed in her eyes yet, she wasn't past the shock stage yet. She left the bedroom, stepping over her dead brother and walking down the stairs, then out into the summer night.

* * *

Hours passed by as she wandered the dark streets of New York, wondering why God, who she had loved, believed in and worshipped for so long would let this happen to her. She was on thirteenth, and passed by the subway station she had gotten off at every Sunday since she was born, then she remembered her sighting yesterday.

Becoming angered, she descended into the subway station, made a left and lowered herself onto the tracks. Still being barefoot, the gravel was painful against her feet but she barely noticed, she walked down the tunnel, looking for anything that looked unusual. She found such a thing eighty yards from the station, a trap door off to the side; it was slightly ajar with an eerie blue light emanating from it. She grabbed hold of it, finding it to weigh almost as much as her, it took every ounce of her strength just to lift it open and let it fall to the side with a loud bang.

* * *

Frank Castle was sleeping; even the Punisher needed rest, until he heard the loud rapport of one of the entrances to his hideout being opened. Instantly alert, he jumped out of his cot, grabbing his custom Smith and Wesson five-hundred revolver from a cleverly hidden compartment under the cot. He then ducked behind a vertical support beam and waited.

Samantha crawled down the ladder, finding herself in the Punisher's armory slash home. She scanned the room, not seeing any form of life, assuming, incorrectly, that he was out doing his thing, she walked into the hideout, heading for the weapons.

"Stop right where you are!" She heard a male voice yell from her right. She looked over to see Castle's laser sight being aimed right at her head. "Who are you?" He demanded.

Samantha didn't answer.

"I said who are you?" Castle repeated, now moving closer to the young girl. She still refused to answer as he got closer to her, stopping only just out of arms length. "What are you doing here?"

"Why didn't you stop them?" She asked angrily.

"Stop who?" Castle asked.

"Them… The ones that killed my family!" She screamed.

Frank's memories started to flood back again, his own family, all murdered in cold blood, and now the same happens to this girl. He lowered his weapon. "Who killed your family?"

Sam shook her head, she didn't actually know who it was that had invaded her house. "I… I don't know…"

"Mob?"

"No… They, they sounded more like gangbangers…"

"Latin Kings? Crypts? Bloods?"

"Not Latin Kings…"

Frank thought for a moment, trying to think of other criteria to narrow down who might've done it. "Were they wearing red or blue?"

"I don't know"

"Did you get a look at them? Did they leave a symbol behind?"

"Not that I saw"

Under other circumstances Frank would be beginning to lose patience, but this was a special case. He took a deep breath and asked another question. "Did they mention a name?"

Sam thought back, and thought hard, it was difficult to try and remember such painful things, then she recalled a name. "Markus… They said something about a Markus…"

Frank now had it narrowed down to two, the Bloods or the Crypts, each had a high ranking member by the name of Markus. "A last name?"

Sam shook her head.

"Okay…" He said. He turned and walked over to a laptop computer; he typed something into it then walked over to where he stored his weapons. He put the Smith and Wesson away and retrieved an MK 23 .45 caliber handgun, setting it to the side. He then pulled his heavily modified Beretta M9's and put them with the other handgun.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"I'm going to track down your killers" he said, pulling a PSG-1 sniper rifle off the rack.

"And then what?"

"What do you think?" He asked, inspecting the powerful rifle.

"Not without me you're not" Sam stated.

Frank dropped the sniper's magazine upon hearing those words. He looked at her and said; "Excuse me?"

"This is personal… I'm going to be the one who gets back at them for what they did".

Frank briefly wondered how long this girl had been procrastinating before finding him; she seemed to be past the denial and acceptance stage and now on the anger stage, seemingly having skipped the mourning stage. "Listen kid, the last two people who helped me in the field… one ended up with a bullet in his temple and the other an ax in his chest, you're not following me down that road…"

Sam lowered her head in thought. "Why didn't he send you to protect us?" She mumbled to herself.

"Who?" Frank queried.

"I've always been so loyal to God… And I thought he was watching over me, my family never did anything to deserve such a thing…"

Frank put the rifle down and walked over to her, leaning against the nearest table. "What are you talking about?"

"Nobody in my family ever sinned; we lived our lives by the bible, to the letter… And now he lets that happen to my family… Why?" Sam asked, tears now welling up.

Frank shifted and crossed his arms. "I'll tell you why…" He began, Sam looked him in the eye. "…Because God isn't what the bible says, all we are to him is entertainment".

"But… I thought he loved us all…?"

"If he did he wouldn't have given us free will, if he's so perfect he would've known what would happen when he gave us freedom of choice, and now look where we are" Frank said, pushing himself off the table and returning to his laptop.

He looked at the screen, having accessed the crime database to get information on the two gangs he was looking for, on a mental coin flip; he chose to look up the Crypts first. "Markus Lyles… A captain in the Crypts gang… No known place of residence, closest accomplice a Wayne Johnson, also no known place of residence…" He read aloud to himself. He kept looking, connecting the dots and continuously moving down the food chain of the Crypts gang, figuring out how he's going to get to them. After several minutes, he finally found his way in. "There we go…"

He walked over to his armor, slipping it over his head and donning the rest of his protective suit. He then loaded his weapons, picked up some spare ammo and started towards the exit to his hideout.

"I told you this was mine personally" Sam said as Castle began to climb the ladder.

"And I told you that you're not coming, stay here, I'll let you know how it goes" And then he disappeared into the subway tunnel.

Sam was bombarded by a mixture of sadness and anger at the situation, she wasn't about to just stand on the sidelines while Castle did her job. She climbed the ladder, he wasn't getting rid of her that easily.


End file.
